Another round in the ring with the neighbors, The Mill and Dixon Street

“A robust democracy requires active participation.” Pete Gallego (former Democratic U.S. Representative from Texas)

During my term as mayor, which began in April 2016, I've chaired a couple of contentious meetings. Certainly the night Sheriff Fitzgerald came to the city council meeting to present his idea of outsourcing our local police services to the county packed the chamber. But beyond that meeting in my nearly two years in office the public hearings regarding The Mill event center have by far been the most “robust” meetings that I have taken part of.

Some of that I'll take the blame for. I'm used to chairing relatively quiet church gatherings where for the most part people see eye to eye on the matter at hand. But a public hearing at city hall – really, any city hall – can sometimes have the vibe of children playing with TNT that left unsupervised might just go off unexpectedly. I guess that's why a guy named Robert came up with a whole bunch of rules for people to follow so that public meetings can be 'robust' yet constructive.

Remember when?

What was once a dilapidated, rat-infested eyesore in 2016 is now a beautiful venue for weddings, meetings, gatherings and, yes, even all-star wrestling events. But from the very get-go one of the primary challenges of this venture has been its location. If they were located out on, say, Highway D on the edge of town, we're probably never talking about it other than the small buzz going around after Sabu made an appearance at the Chetek Chillar about a month ago. But, of course, they're not. They're right on the edge of a neighborhood and therein lies the challenge. Noise, traffic,

congestion, bright lights – these are but a few of the sticking points that create the tension that can erupt like Mt. Vesuvius at a public hearing if not diffused properly.

An old satellite photo of the corner of Banks and Dixon
but you get the idea

A few weeks ago at the monthly meeting of the Plan Commission The Mill was on the agenda yet again for what promised to be a full night. It's Conditional Use Permit with regards to what is now known as Dixon Street was up for review and everyone who had to be there knew it was going to be a tense meeting going in. The “closing” of Dixon Street has been a troublesome matter all along whether you're Buddy and Nancy (owners of The Mill) or Jim Crotteau (owner of Lake Country Marina whose detailing shop is right across the street from The Mill) or any of the neighbors at the west end of Banks Street (abutting The Mill) or Pastor Norm (who drives a bus route that used to head right down Dixon Street) or any of the guys who need to get to ABC for their shift or even myself trying to get over to Refuge – frankly, is there anyone in town who hasn't been slightly inconvenienced since we inked the deal that authorized the Helms' to use Dixon as a private road?

Looking south

Without going over old ground again what would be the harm in just leaving the road as is and giving them permission to close it when an event was going on? Well, that's not what their lease says. Also, the angled parking lines that have since been painted leave very little room for vehicles to maneuver around if there are cars already parked there. Plus, there are little kids playing at the west end of Banks Street and we don't want anyone hurt because someone who is trying to get to an event at The Mill puts any of them in harm's way because they are unfamiliar with the neighborhood.

While the council chamber was not full (it was way fuller the night the sheriff came for his presentation) there were plenty of interested parties present including Richard Bossany, owner of Glass on Silk (directly to the south of The Mill) and several of the neighbors many of which came with documents that included both letters of protest against The Mill's ongoing operation as a business as well as pictures of how vehicles were parking in front of their homes and generally disrupting their lives, and other community members. Jim Crotteau sent a letter expressing his opinion on the matters at hand as well.

To keep things civil and on track I limited everyone to three minutes. No one was allowed to interrupt anyone else giving their statement. At the conclusion of everyone else's comments the Helms would be allowed to make a statement as well so long as it was three minutes in length like everyone else. Not everyone was against The Mill. Richard Bossany urged the Commission to renew their lease and stated that his business had only been slightly inconvenienced by the placement of a “fence” at Dixon and Stout and The Mill's business was good for Chetek. But on the main those that chose to address the Commission were dissatisfied at how their lives or business were being affected by The Mill's operation. Whether it was guests of The Mill parking on Banks Street in front of any of the neighbors (which is totally legal) or Lake Country Marina's employees being inconvenienced because a chain that is only to be used during events to close off the west end of Banks Street was left up and thus inhibiting them from doing their work, the long and short of it was if it was up for a vote, Buddy and Nancy would be out of business.

I want to say that given the circumstances and some of the opinions which are quite strong, everyone did well. They honored the three minute rule and no one tried to interrupt anyone as they made their statement or behaved in a way that was awkward. A “robust” argument was had but it remained civil throughout.

This was from the last time we dealt with the use
of Dixon Street in 2016

Following the public hearing (which also included a brief discussion about Jason Fostvedt's appeal to build a four-plex on the site of the beauty shop that burned down a month ago), the Plan Commission meeting began. In my limited experience, Plan Commission meetings tend to be short affairs usually never going longer than 30 minutes. But not that night. Since The Mill's Conditional Use Permit was up for review it was the intent of the Commission to amend their lease according to the information they had heard during the Public Hearing. I want to commend the Commission who didn't try to brush off any of the concerns that either Mr. Crotteau (Lake Country Marina) or the neighbors had; rather, they painstakingly worked their way through the lion's share of them. City Attorney Randi Osberg was present and took notes and promised that by February's Council meeting (the following week) the proposed amendments would be in written form and ready for the Council to sign off on or add to.

Here they are in the form that the council approved unanimously the following week with no additional changes:

1. Allow angled parking on west side of Dixon only; no parking on east side of Dixon. City will pay for and erect appropriate parking signs.
2. The Mills' owner is to work with the City on getting reflectors or other visual aids on the street closing fencing wherever and whenever erected.
3. Dead-end/no through street. The current “Dead End” sign is to be moved closer to Sixth Street on Banks Street to discourage cars from entering initially.
4. Large illuminating sign facing east (“The Mill”) is to be shut off when closed for business, generally at dark and not after midnight.
5. Chains are to be up for events and down when events are not occurring.
6. Operator (i.e., The Helms) is to offer shuttle services for guests from off-site parking locations.

Added to their lease (which had not been included before) were limits to their hours of operation, namely:

The facility must be closed/the operation closed no later than 10 pm on Sundays through Thursdays and by 12 midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. An exception will be allowed to extend operations to midnight on Sundays or Mondays that are nationally recognized

holidays (when national banks are closed.)

If I recall it took us about two and a half hours to get through this meeting that seemed to crawl at times on all fours. But the members of the Commission wanted to get it as right as possible so that The Mill can still operate with the least amount of intrusion to their neighbors' lives.

This sign will have to be moved closer to Sixth Street

It's only my opinion, mind you, but I think that while no one got everything everyone got something. I understand that a few of the neighbors wish The Mill would sprout wings and move out of town – or at least to a place more conducive to that sort of business. I understand that a lot of folks in town who will never attend any event at The Mill will not be satisfied that Dixon Street now is treated for all intents and purposes as a vacated (i.e., abandoned) road. And I understand that the big lighted sign on the outside - “lit up like a Norwegian church” - looks cool from a promotional stand-point. But herein compromises have to be made. The neighbors didn't like the big lighted sign being left on all the time.  That night, following the Plan Commission's conclusion, it was off – for the first time since they opened the place. Mr. Crotteau doesn't like for his guys to be inconvenienced so it's now a binding agreement that the chain stays down (unless, of course, an event is going on). One of the neighbors resents the fact that guests of The Mill park on his lawn that abuts Dixon Street. The city at our expense will be erecting “No Parking” signs on the east side of Dixon Street to inform out-of-towners where they can and cannot park. The Mill wanted to stay open until midnight any time they had an event. The neighbors wanted them to be closed by 9 (as they have little kids who need to get to bed). From herein out, their hours of operation have been set. The Mill has to be dark by 10 pm on weeknights but can stay open until midnight on the weekends. In my mind, that's split the difference.

Light is off now when not in operation

Understandably, several people exited the council chamber that night feeling disappointed as their concerns about noise and guests of The Mill smoking and drinking outside of their facility (something prohibited by law) didn't seem to be acknowledged (this meeting on this night was only about the use of Dixon Street). They didn't win everything they fought for – but they won some things because they showed up, they made phone calls, they wrote letters. That's what I call a “robust” local democracy in action so kudos to them for staying the course and expressing their dissatisfaction in constructive ways. If you ask me, that's what its all about - neighbors seeking to resolve matters in a civil manner even if in the end nobody got all the concessions and changes they were seeking.

I wish I could say this is the last we will hear about that corner of town. My guess it won't be. But my hope will always be that neighbors – be it the ones at the end of Banks Street or in any other neighborhood in town - will take it on themselves to be good neighbors first and work out between themselves what can be worked out before having to go before the council to arbitrate their differences.